Brie Larson

A striking young actress gifted well beyond her years, Brie Larson cut her professional teeth with television roles on shows like "Raising Dad" (The WB, 2001-02) and "Right on Track" (Disney Channel,...
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The first trailer is out for Sundance winner The Spectacular Now, and we can already tell it's going to hit us with all kinds of emotions. It stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley as teens Sutter and Aimee, and chronicles the relationship between these two slightly damaged people. The film also stars Brie Larson, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. It is directed by James Ponsoldt and written by 500 Days of Summer writers Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter. It opens on August 2.
The Spectacular Now looks like it's going to tug on our heartstrings in the way that all the best coming-of-age stories do. It looks spectacular, and we want to see it now.
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Summer marks a time of big blockbusters and other Hollywood money-makers. But don't let the action-packed apocalypse movies distract you from what critics are already calling one of this year's best indie films. Short Term 12, which opens August 23rd, has garnered praise from critics and viewers alike, winning both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at this year's SXSW.
Starring Brie Larson, Short Term 12 follows a young woman named Grace who works a a foster-care facility for at-risk teens. As she counsels the troubled adolescents in her care and connects with a new arrival, Grace finds it increasingly difficult keep her own demons at bay.
If the trailer is any indication, this film tells an emotional story with subtle but powerful performances and a nice touch of humor. I think I speak for many when I say I'm looking forward to its release. Watch the trailer and chime in below!
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Actress Jessica Chastain has been added to the celebrity honourees at this year's (13) Maui Film Festival in Hawaii. Kirsten Dunst and Brie Larson have already been announced as recepients of two of the event's top awards, and now the Zero Dark Thirty star is also joining the line-up.
She will receive the festival's prestigious Nova Award, which recognises "original and seamless performances".
A statement from festival bosses reads, "Few film artists are as talented and versatile as Jessica Chastain. She has made this clear in the range of characters she has brought to life in her chameleon-like silver screen performances. Jessica is one of a kind and we couldn't be more pleased to honour her with the 2013 Maui Film Festival Nova Award."
The stars will be celebrated during the five-day event, which kicks off on 12 June (13).

Actresses Kirsten Dunst and Brie Larson will be the toast of the upcoming Maui Film Festival in Hawaii next month (Jun13) after each landing top prizes. The Spider-Man star will be feted with the Pathfinder Award for her "eclectic choices" and "charismatic performances," while young 21 Jump Street beauty Larson will be handed the Rising Star Award.
A statement from festival director Barry Rivers reads: "They are both not only beautiful women inside and out but are also talented nearly beyond description and uniquely passionate in their portrayals of the characters they bring to life."
The stars will be celebrated during the five-day event, which kicks off on 12 June (13).

Living in between the Awards Season heavy hitters of the winter and the high-concept blockbusters of the summer are the festival releases: South by Southwest's roster of small pictures with big substance. With the Austin-based film fest coming to a close this weekend, buffs are now privy to a wave of titles promising the utmost quality.
On Saturday, SXSW announced its league of winners, with Destin Cretton's drama Short Term 12 nabbing the top victory for narrative feature films. The movie, adapted by Crettin from his own short project, centers on star Brie Larson's foster care facilitator as she struggles with the chaos evolving from her lifestyle.
RELATED: SXSW: Paul Rudd's 'Prince Avalanche' Is a Hilarious and Touching Odd Couple Story
In the realm of documentary, the big win went to The Short Game, a film highlighting the talents and experiences of pre-adolescent competitive golfers. Check out the full list of SXSW winners below.
Narrative Feature CompetitionSHORT TERM 12
Documentary Feature CompetitionTHE SHORT GAME
24 Beats Per SecondA BAND CALLED DEATH
VisionsMAIDENTRIP
Narrative SpotlightZERO CHARISMA
Documentary SpotlightAN UNREAL DREAM: THE MICHAEL MORTON STORY
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MidnightersCHEAP THRILLS
SXGlobalTHE PUNK SYNDROME
Festival FavoritesTHE CRASH REEL
Excellence in Poster DesignKISS OF THE DAMNED
Excellence in Title DesignCHASING SHAKESPEARE
Follow Michael Arbeiter on Twitter @MichaelArbeiter
[Photo Credit: Short Term Film]
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Destin Cretton is not in the room, but his presence is most certainly palpable. Just a day before his film Short Term 12 — a heartfelt, effective drama about teens in a foster care system and the lives of the counselors who look after them — won the Grand Jury Prize at the SXSW film festival, Hollywood.com sat down with a few cast members of the young, wildly talented ensemble.
When asked what got them most interested in the project and who made them feel most at ease working on something that deals with such weighty topics as abuse, depression, and suicide, the answers from Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Keith Stanfield, and Rami Malek were unanimous: their leader Destin Cretton. His cast described him as "thoughtful," "casual," "calm," "intuitive," "great," "genuine," and "honest," among other things.
RELATED: SXSW 2013 Film Awards: 'Short Term 12' Nabs Grand Jury Prize
Cretton channeled his own personal experiences from working at a facility like the one depicted in Short Term 12 into a short film with the same name in 2008, and decided to turn the project into a full-length feature. He put his cast together (2013's Short Term 12 reunited the writer/director with the elusive Stanfield, who appeared in the short film) and with a small budget — but a lot of heart — the cast and crew got to work.
As it turned out, the only thing the cast members loved more about the project than Cretton was each other. The tight-knit group's enthusiasm for the film was only matched by their enthusiasm for each other and their performances. When Dever, who plays a troubled teen named Jayden, modestly talked about the audition process, Larson — who turns in a career-making performance as Grace, a counselor with a dark past of her own — is quick to point out, "You made [Destin] cry, don't forget about that part." When talking about the scenes that hit her hard, Dever doesn't point to her own tearjerker, but Stanfield's lost soul Marcus, who turns his pain into an honest, heartbreaking rap.
Cretton certainly didn't hurt the process by having his cast engage in bonding experiences, either. Gallagher, who plays the sweet, sensitive counselor (and Grace's struggling love interest) Mason recalls, "Brie and I went to dinner when we first met and Destin gave us an envelope that we kept on the table. Every couple of minutes we would take out a piece of paper that was in there that had a conversation starter about [us]." Larson quickly interjects with a laugh, "It's so weird to think about that now! That we went to a nice dinner and had an envelope of questions about what our [character's] first date was."
One major bonding experience for the cast is something you'll actually see on screen: the tongue-twister of a team-building game called "Big Booty." "I had to teach the kids how to play Big Booty," Gallagher reveals. "Destin would be like, 'Hey, you're not in the next scene. Can you take these kids to the other building and practice Big Booty because we have to shoot that tomorrow. So I'd be like, 'Hey everyone, we're gonna learn the game; and then I would mess it up and they would be amazing at it." In true supportive fashion, Larson quickly notes, "We were all pretty bad at Big Booty!"
But fun games and first dates weren't the only ways the cast dove into their work. Dealing with such heavy material took research — and going to dark places. "Destin had me shadow at a place, and that's where I learned a lot. That's really where I found Grace's voice," Larson says. "You learn very quickly in these foster care places, [the kids] are acting tough, but they have very specific triggers and they're traumatized."
RELATED: SXSW: 'Short Term 12' is a Small Movie with a Big Impact
Larson continues: "Talking about serious trauma stories [with these kids], you just can't even fathom that anybody would ever do this to any other human being. I'm the type of person, when I first meet someone I wanna hug them, and you can't do that [there]...Certain [kids] don't want to speak to you, won't want to talk about certain things. I got to sit down with them and learn what Grace would know for her job."
As Larson and others got more hands-on experience for the task at hand (Dever recalled that they had to properly learn how to do restraints on set), others like Stanfield, whose character is withdrawn and depressed, retreated. "I kind of isolated myself," the elusive actor admits. "I wanted to kind of soak in everything. I feel as though if you talk you're not listening, so I just sit back and ingest. This is all very new to me, so I wanted to take in the experience. At the same time I thought it would be good for my character if I maintained not being really socially intimate with anybody and put myself in the zone. My whole being was immersed in being melancholy. It's cool to dive in there and go to those places."
Dever agrees that going to those darker places, while difficult, was one of the more rewarding experiences for her. "When I first read the script, I loved it and I really related to the character. I felt like I could do so much with it and it was so deep and dark."
Larson adds, "I lived this through Grace's eyes, which is a very lonely experience."
In the end, all the blood, sweat, and tears paid off, not only with a film that critics and moviegoers have taken note of and sung its praises, but one the cast is proud to be a part of. Malek, who plays Nate, a newbie counselor to the facility, told Hollywood.com about what it felt like to watch the film's world premiere at SXSW with his castmates, director, and an audience.
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"It was palpable, the emotion," Malek says. "Something was happening with the energy in that audience. There were definitely moments — I don't know if I was having a particularly sensitive day — but it was really hitting me, watching that film. It made me count my blessings... I felt fortunate."
But Gallagher, perhaps, sums it up best for his castmates: "I loved making it; I loved who wrote and directed it. I loved the script. I loved the actors in it. I loved watching it. When I watched it [at SXSW], I was like, 'It's all about love'."
[Photo credit: SXSW]
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Short Term 12, Destin Cretton's bittersweet drama about a group of troubled adolescents and the adults who look after them at a short term housing facility, walked away with the Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 SXSW Film Awards on Tuesday night.
RELATED: SXSW: 'Short Term 12' is a Small Movie with a Big Impact
The film, which features brilliant, star-making turns from its young, talented cast (including Kaitlyn Dever, John Gallagher Jr., and a breakout performance from Brie Larson), seemed to touch a nerve with SXSW audiences. Short Term 12, which is based loosely off of Cretton's own experiences working in that sort of environment, was nothing short of a heartbreaking crowd-pleaser in Austin, where it made its world debut.
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Other big winners at the film awards included Burma, a drama about family secrets coming to the surface, won Special Jury Recognition for Ensemble Cast. Burma's impressive ensemble includes the likes of Gaby Hoffman, Dan Bittner, and Girls star Christopher Abbott.
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Check out the full list of SXSW 2013 Film Award winners here, and stay tuned to Hollywood.com throughout the week for even more movie reviews, interviews with the stars, and our own picks for the best (and worst) flicks of SXSW.
[Photo credit: SXSW]
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A little movie can have an awfully big impact. Destin Cretton's Short Term 12 — an equal parts heart breaking and life-affirming drama — is one that will, and should, get people talking. The film, which debuted at the SXSW festival on Sunday, is not only a star vehicle for its tremendously talented, young ensemble (including a career-making performance by 21 Jump Street's Brie Larson) but a conversation piece film, and an important, timely one at that.
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Rooted deeply in humility and realism (likely thanks largely in part to Cretton's own real-life experiences with the subject matter at hand) Short Term 12 chronicles the lives of dedicated supervisors at a residence for troubled youths and the very kids they are trying to help. Two of the supervisors, Grace (Larson) and Mason (an impressive, effective John Gallagher Jr.) are in a relationship and are trying to navigate their own complications while dealing with the heaviness that comes with their line of work.
All of the kids at the facility break your heart in their own specific way (mine particularly ached for a shy boy named Sammy who only found solace in small dolls), like Mason, Grace, and the rest of the staff, all you want to do is hug them and tell them it's going to be alright. Even when it's best not to. As the film progresses (it moves swiftly) we learn that Grace isn't just in this line of tough work because it's noble, but because she is a survivor of abuse herself. Grace takes particular interest in a new resident, a young girl named Jayden (a vulnerable, stunning Kaitlyn Dever) whose tragic upbringing mirrors her own. If Grace can't change her past, she can at least try everything in her power to change Jayden's future.
RELATED: The 2013 SXSW Film Lineup
But what really will get the conversation —not only here in Austin, but when the movie is seen by even wider audiences — is how expertly and sensitively it deals with mental illness. Where other films like Silver Linings Playbook can play it up for laughs (that's not to say Short Term 12 doesn't have it's moments of levity, in addition to be downright harrowing at times, it's also got moments that are charming and genuinely funny) Cretton's film sheds light on taboo topics like suicide and self-harm like cutting, putting them in terms those mercifully out of the spectrum can understand. For those who suffer, and/or love those who do suffer, will not only be relieved to see an accurate depiction, but one that will change hearts and minds.
Short Term 12 is a beautiful movie in every sense of the word, it is beautifully shot, beautifully scored, and beautifully acted. It's a lovely, honest tearjerker of a film that will make you want to help make the world a better place. How many movies these days, at SXSW or elsewhere, can say that?
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[Photo credit: SXSW]

The 2013 SXSW festival kicks off today in Austin, and if you're a movie buff heading down to Texas to park in the festivities, well, you better learn how to be in a lot of places at once. This year's film lineup is as big as the Lone Star state itself. From headliners like The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and Spring Breakers, to buzzy premieres that include the Josh Duhamel-starrer Americana road trip gone wrong Scenic Route and the British ensemble marriage comedy I Give It A Year, to such already-bona fide festival favorites as Before Midnight and Much Ado About Nothing, there's no shortage of flicks to check out.
RELATED: The 2013 SXSW Film Lineup
So which flicks are can't miss? We picked 5 SXSW movies we're looking forward to seeing this week and think you should, too.
Short Term 12: Based loosely on director Destin Cretton's real-life experiences working at a group home for troubled teens, Short Term 12 will not only serve as the launching pad for Brie Larson's (pictured) breakout performance, the indie drama about the kids and counselors at a housing facility also looks to be one of the fest's most effective tearjerkers.
Drinking Buddies: Can't get enough of New Girl star Jake Johnson? Neither can we. But he's just one of the reasons why we'll be checking out the can-men-and-women-be-friends (especially when there's alcohol involved) comedy which also stars Olivia Wilde, Anna Kendrick, and Ron Livingston.
Kelly &amp; Victor: On the other end of the romance spectrum, there's Kelly &amp; Victor. The indie drama about an affair between a Liverpool couple looks like it has the potential to be the UK's version of Blue Valentine.
evil Dead: Last year's eagerly anticipated horror flick The Cabin in the Woods did not disappoint at SXSW, so hopes are high that yet another flick about a doomed trip to a cabin in the woods will be a hit. Expectations are sky-high for the grisly remake of Sam Raimi's 1981 classic, so you bet your mangled tongue we'll be there to see if it brings the goods. Sleep is overrated anyway.
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Broadway Idiot: There's a bevy of must-see documentaries playing at the festival this year (I Am Divine, Hawking, Downloaded, The Punk Singer are all on our docket) but we're most intrigued by how Green Day went from punk trio to Broadway babies. Plus, the band will be on hand for the premiere and we have no doubt Billie Joe Armstrong will have some interesting things to say.
Be sure to have these on your radar, too: Burma, Coldwater, Good Vibrations, Gus, Loves Her Gun, Milo, Some Girl(s), When Angels Sing, You're Next
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Check in with Hollywood.com all week for all of our SXSW coverage, including reviews, interviews, and so much more.
[Photo credit: Facebook]

The actor went to the festival to unveil the comedy, which he wrote, directed and stars in as a porn-obsessed womaniser who tries to start a meaningful relationship with Scarlett Johansson's character.
Don Jon's Addiction was a huge hit with audiences and sparked a bidding war with studio heads, and on Monday (21Jan13) it was picked up by Relativity Media.
Gordon-Levitt announced the deal in a video posted online, telling fans, "I'm here at Sundance and the good news is the movie that I wrote and directed, Don Jon's Addiction, just closed a deal, a really great big deal for it to come out all over the country and all over the world.
"I couldn't be happier. It's what I always wanted for this movie. I always intended for it to be for a big popular, mass audience. That's what's gonna happen, it looks like."
The movie, which is set for a summer (13) release, also features Julianne Moore, Brie Larson and Tony Danza in its cast.

Made acting debut as Courtney Enders in Disney Channel Original Movie "Right on Track"

Released debut album Finally Out of P.E.

After recording a few tracks, signed to Casablanca Records

Co-starred with a large cast of teen actors in adventure film "Sleepover"

Acted opposite Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in big screen reboot of "21 Jump Street," based on 1980s Fox series

Featured in the drama "The Spectacular Now"

Played one of the three leads in "Hoot" opposite Logan Lerman and Cody Linley; also co-wrote and performed "Coming Around" for soundtrack

Summary

A striking young actress gifted well beyond her years, Brie Larson cut her professional teeth with television roles on shows like "Raising Dad" (The WB, 2001-02) and "Right on Track" (Disney Channel, 2003) and scored tween-friendly hits by appearing in the feature films "13 Going on 30" (2004), "Sleepover" (2004) and "Hoot" (2006). She made the transition from child star to grown-up actress smoothly, earning acclaim for her turns in such movies as "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (2010) and "21 Jump Street" (2012) and impressed critics with her nuanced turn as Toni Collette's self-destructive daughter on "The United States of Tara" (Showtime, 2009-2011). Critics dubbed her the "It" girl of SXSW 2013 for her flurry of high-profile projects, particularly her raved-about, star-making lead role in the drama "Short Term 12" (2013), which earned her serious award buzz. One of the rare talents who only improved with age, Brie Larson gave critics and fans ample reason to expect her to reach even greater artistic heights over time.